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Is this acceptable tile work?

6 years ago

My contractor is acting like this is great work, and I am being unreasonable so I thought I would ask get some opinions.


Tiles are chipped here, grout is uneven, in some places it is cracked, tiles are not cut straight, and the grout in some areas is a different color. Is this type of imperfections expected or something that should be corrected?







Comments (11)

  • PRO
    6 years ago

    No. Not to industry standards at all. Painful to even look at. Suspect you do not have a professional tile installer but perhaps a handyman/jack of all trades? Did you hire the installer yourself? Was he/she a sub-contractor for your GC? How did you vet them?

    B Gan thanked Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
  • 6 years ago

    Tiler used grout in the corners instead of caulking. At the very least that needs to be corrected. The grout in corners will crack.

    B Gan thanked mainenell
  • 6 years ago

    @Joseph Corlett, LLC / @Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.. Do you have any thoughts on how many hours of work it would take to fix the issues? Is this like a day, 2-day, or 1 week kind of project? I'm trying get a feel for the scope of the problem

  • 6 years ago

    Is this in a shower or bath?

  • 6 years ago

    @cpartist bath with shower




  • 6 years ago

    *Some* inspectors would flag that window as needing safety glass. It is borderline as it isn't over the tub basin but it is over the tub. Better cross your fingers.


    Outside of that yeah, pretty iffy tile install. No caulk at the transition to the window frame and that makes me HIGHLY doubt he properly waterproofed up against the window opening. As your wood window frame expands and contracts with different humidity over time, it will eventually break your tile off there, especially where he butted the tile right against the wood.


    Lot of pretty rough cuts. Guy did not have the proper equipment to make straight, clean cuts.


    All that grout and mortar all over your wood is also just professionally embarrassing. No reason whatsoever for that. Protecting surrounding fixtures, trim, walls, etc. while using mortar and grout is tiling 101. Total hack job.

  • PRO
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    Suggest you consult with a qualified tile contractor in your area to do an onsite consult. It would be helpful to have a full description (in process pictures also if available) of the materials and methods that this contractor used (ask them... how did they build and prep the shower, what materials did they use and did they conform to manufacturer specification, and industry standards (TCNA an ANSI) , just to get the conversation started). If I were to "guess" from here... tear out and re-do (5-10 days) . So sorry as this is NOT what our industry is about but as long as homeowners and GC's are willing to hire unqualified trades....there you go.

    B Gan thanked Dragonfly Tile & Stone Works, Inc.
  • 6 years ago

    If the 'tile dudes' (I'm going to guess they are guys who swing hammers that were told to do some tile that day) did NOT know about grout and 'change of plane' then I do NOT feel comfortable with the hidden stuff...like the water proofing.


    Do you have photos of 'in progress'? We would like to see if they did any water proofing.


    As for the tiles themselves, this is not industry standard by any means. If that is marble, then it is not supposed to have sanded grout. And grout should never be used in the areas where the surfaces change direction (like from a floor tile to a wall tile...that change of direction needs CAULKING not grout). The very minimum they have to dig out all that grout along the floor/wall border and along the window (all the way around). That's not going to hold.


    Get the inspector in to tell you where the REAL issues are. I'm worried that the outside 'dumb-dumb' moves are hiding MASSIVE issues that require SMART-SMART knowledge. I don't think the GC has a clue about tilers...which tells me s/he probably doesn't understand water proofing and that's the BIGGER issue.

    B Gan thanked SJ McCarthy
  • 6 years ago

    " Do you have any thoughts on how many hours of work it would take to fix the issues? Is this like a day, 2-day, or 1 week kind of project? I'm trying get a feel for the scope of the problem"


    How long did this "work" take to complete? Take that add a few days to completely gut what is already done and there you will have an idea on the time frame

  • 6 years ago

    Sorry this is happening to you. Here's what I recommend.

    Hire a certified tile professional to come and do an inspection and give you a written report detailing everything that was done wrong and what it will cost to fix

    it. If you have “in-progress” pictures, show them to the tile pro. And post them here.

    Here are 2 organizations with search tools on their websites.
    www.tile-assn.com
    Click on “find a contractor” and enter your zip code. Let the miles radius be fairly large, like 50 miles or so. The excellent tile pro that built all my bathrooms was on that site in my area, but about 40 miles away bc he was near downtown and I’m in a suburb.
    www.ceramictilefoundation.org
    This site has lots of good information on it. I didn’t find my contractor on this site, but a lot of people have told me that they had luck with it.
    Here’s where you click to find a contractor:
    www.ceramictilefoundation.org/find-certified-tile-installers
    Also, if you are a nerd like me and you like to read, you could download a digital version of the TCNA handbook. It’s less than $40. It’s over 600 pages, but you don’t have to read the whole thing. Read the introduction (about 50 pages) and then read the tub/shower chapters. You can skip all the other chapters such as swimming pools, etc. Reading this helped me to learn about the process and industry standards for water proofing and tile installation; it helped me to ask more informed questions, and helped a lot in my meeting with the contractor who messed up my shower.
    www.tcnatile.com/products-and-services/publications.html
    After the pro you hire for the inspection gives you his written report of all the things done wrong, have a business meeting with the contractor at the worksite and discuss all the problems. If it needs to be completely redone, ask them to do that, at their expense. They will either agree, in which case you give them a chance to redo it, or they will refuse, in which case they are effectively quitting. Confirm with them that if they don’t attempt to redo it, they are basically quitting; get them to acknowledge that fact. Don’t pay any remaining balance. After the meeting follow up with an email documenting that conversation, and asking for acknowledgement, so that in the future they can’t claim that you illegally fired them. In that email, say something like “We were so disappointed that you decided to quit the project rather than fix the [ list of problems ]. Because we have to have the shower rebuilt, we are requesting a refund in the amount of [$$$] in order for us to hire a new contractor and for the purchase of replacement materials.” They will probably respond to that email to refuse you the refund, but at least then you have an electronic paper trail that shows that you did not fire them illegally, that they quit instead. You can then go to small claims or district court to sue them if you want, but that’s a real PITA.
    In the scenario where they agree to redo it, give them a chance. Take pictures of the demo process so you can see the layers under the tile. Also take pictures twice a day (at lunch break, and in the evening) of every step of the rebuild, including all the supplies and tools. Post them here. When/if they mess it up again (and maybe have the inspector come out a second time), then you can legally fire them in most states. That’s how it is in TX where I am. If you want to know for sure you can look up your state’s statues online and read the construction laws. If you aren't sure and you don't want to read the laws, just assume that you have to give them a chance to fix first before firing them. After you fire them, ask for a refund and hire a real pro to start over. Consider hiring the person you hired to inspect.
    Sorry this is happening to you. It happened to me. It's far too common.

    B Gan thanked AJCN